Finding beauty in the white spaces

Jesus is Lord

I cannot tell you how many times I sang those words when I was young. A song with that title was quite popular in Church of Christ youth groups in the late 80s & early 90s. We sang that song nearly every devotional, retreat or camp I attended. To this day I could show you the sign language for all the verses. It was a major part of the soundtrack of my youth.

I don’t really hear that song anymore. On the rare occasion that I do, like many of the things from our past, it feels somewhat cheesy and outdated. But those words are still a vivid memory.

“Jesus is Lord”

You can find those words all over the Christian community. On Bible covers and in Christian art. On bumper stickers and on t-shirts. Keychains and coffee mugs. It’s part of our normal language and discourse.

It’s like a slogan that has lost its impact.

When those Gentile astronomers – the Magi, as Matthew called them – came to visit the baby Jesus, they came bearing meaningful gifts. The first is the gift of gold.

It’s value was more than its monetary worth; it was a bold statement. Gold was not a gift for a baby in a manger. Gold is meant for royalty. So in giving a gift of gold, they declared a little baby as king.

The words “Jesus is Lord” make this same bold statement. For the earliest Christians, those words were a shot across the bow of the existing power structures of the day. In a Roman empire where subjects declared Caesar as lord, three simple words asserted that another reality existed. That a new kingdom was present.

Declaring “Jesus is Lord” was a dangerous thing to say. And it’s just as radical of a statement today.

It’s not a slogan, it’s a way of life.

To say that Jesus is Lord is to announce that nothing else has dominion over your life. No government or person. Not money or power. Or success. Or fame. It challenges all of the idols that we hold as important.

The writer Alan Hirsch calls it a “worldview in a sentence.” “Jesus is Lord” grounds us to our identity and clarifies our mission. It is a declaration that gives the entire world around us form and scope. Our entire lives are affected by those 3 little words.

To say “Jesus is Lord” is to lay gold at the feet a baby in a manger. It is to state boldly that your allegiance belongs to a man born in Bethlehem 2000 years ago.

Because this baby king grew and lived and taught and died for all of us.

So today may you have the boldness and courage to make such a bold statement. May you lay all else that seems important and value at the feet of a baby born in a manger. May we all have the courage to say those 3 powerful words.